Acknowledgments
MANY PEOPLE HELPED with this book. Among the most generous was Jon Simon, topologist, friend, and professor emeritus at the University of Iowa, who read the manuscript with astonishing care and offered an extremely generous set of notes, corrections, and suggestions on the mathematics. Similarly helpful was Chard deNiord, poet, essayist, fiction writer, and longtime friend, whose frankness remains legendary. My agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, provided her usual levelheaded mix of encouragement and clarity, as did Gina Centrello, president and publisher of Random House. Steve Sellers was a great boon, as always. So were Joe Blair and Bill Houser.
At Penguin Random House, my editor, Kate Medina, read the manuscript so many times I’ve lost count, never failing to push it in the right direction. Her fine and generous reading and constant support were instrumental. Anna Pitoniak was never-endingly intelligent, responsive, and reliable — a delight to work with. I’m grateful to my copy editors as well, Amy Ryan and Susan Betz — secret heroes, both of them — and to Steve Messina, the book’s production editor, who was my kind of meticulous. Also at Penguin Random House, Maria Braeckel and Alaina Waagner got things going for the wide world. I’m grateful to Avideh Bashirrad there, too, along with Benjamin Dreyer, Derrill Hagood, Joe Perez, and Simon Sullivan.
A number of other wonderful friends gave particularly generously of their time, including Liaquat Ahamed, Dan Baldwin, Alex Bassuk, Deb Blair, Nate Brady, Po Bronson, Michael Flaum, Alex Gansa, Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine, Mike Lighty, Jon Maksik, Yannick Meurice, Linda and John Spevacek, Jane VanVoorhis, Lauren White, Judith Wolff, and Anne Ylvisaker. I owe a debt of gratitude to my brother, Aram, and to his wife, Lianne Voelm, for their adroit advice. Kurt Anstreicher introduced me not only to some of history’s great mathematical problems but also to Bob Vanderbei of Princeton University, who was kind enough to tour me through that famous department of mathematics. My thanks to all of them.
For some key details, I’m indebted to my friend Commander Thomas Corcoran, U.S. Navy (Retired), a man who knows both naval history and computer programming. For Wall Street trivia, thanks go to two other friends, Scott Lasser and Gray Lorig. Eric Simonoff at William Morris Endeavor was also very generous with his time. Thanks again to Maxine Groffsky, who stood by me for so many years. And a special thank-you to Wendell Berry and David Blackwell.
For advice about various tidbits, ranging from orthopedic casting to the OSU frat scene, a tip of the hat goes to Hadley Calloway, Rebekah Frumkin, Steve Markley, Fatima Mirza, Ali Selim, and Tim Taranto.
My kids deserve many thanks for their years of forbearance. Of course, I’m forever indebted to my parents, too, Stuart and Virginia Canin, who continue to mean so much to me, and to my great-uncle Max Shiffman, who was the genesis of all of this.
My gratitude goes as well to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, to the University of Iowa, and to the public libraries of Iowa City and Coralville, Iowa, and of beautiful Elk Rapids, Michigan.
But at the risk of burying the lede, my most profound thanks — by far — go to my wife, Barbara, whose care, encouragement, discernment, dedication, and generosity made all the difference.
— e.c.
About the Author
ETHAN CANIN is the author of seven books, including the story collections Emperor of the Air and The Palace Thief and the novels For Kings and Planets, Carry Me Across the Water, and America America. He is on the faculty of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and divides his time between Iowa and northern Michigan.
ethancanin.com